loving the one you protect

chapter 3

"Ahem" A tall middle aged guardian stood at the end of the table looming over us. Her hair cut to resemble a boyish crop.

"Guardian Petrov" Lissa and Adrian greet.

"Alberta" I nod searching her face for any hint as to what she may want.

"I've been looking for you three. You are to be in headmistress Kirova's office in 10 minutes. Don't be late." She turns and leaves.

"awh shit I'm in for it aren't I?" I wail.

"Oh hush why would we be called in too then?" Lissa asks, ever the diplomat.

"Nawh Rose, you're done for!" Adrian laughs. I swat at him.

Ten minutes later the three of us enter the grand office in which the headmistress resides. Ornate bookshelves grace the walls and a large antique desk rests in the middle of the room giving it a regal feel.

"Headmistress" Lissa and I greet solemnly.

"Kirova" Adrian adds with his best Ivashkov charm.

She dips her head in acknowledgement. "Queen Tatiana wishes to have a few words with you."

I'm surprised I didn't notice her before, with all the extra guardians around and all. Man, I must be losing my touch. She appears from the corner of the room, in her regal splendor, her gowns and jewels glinting under the dim light.

"Your majesty" We greet.

"Auntie" Adrian acknowledges; she smiles broadly at him.

"As I'm sure you are well aware princess Vasilisa, you are to graduate in a few months."

Lissa nods at the queen.

"I am well aware of your desires to attend college, would be willing to arrange for you to do so the most prestige university in the area. However, in return, I would like you to reside at the court and assist me in my duties. It is no secret that you have charmed the public and have a great awareness of what the people need. I'd like you to be part of the royal advisory and shadow me in some of your spare time." Her eyes bore into Lissa's daring her to reject the offer.

Beside me Adrian stiffens. He must have seen a shift in her aura and doesn't like what he sees. I tense, ready to spring into action. I am Lissa's guardian after all. Well guardian to be anyway –if I ever graduate.

"I will accept your offer your highness, pending on a few conditions. Firstly I wish Rose to be my official guardian after graduation. Second, I wish to retain the right to express my opinions clearly and without bias during advisory sessions and in the court. Lastly I wish to be able to take time off to focus on my studies and duties to myself and friends."

I don't bother to hide the grin that lights up my face and shoot Lissa a look filled with pride. She's always so elegant and well spoken. She would do well as a leader. Unlike stuffy old Tatiana here...

"Of course my dear, these are all very reasonable conditions. You will be free to take vacations from the court whenever you may need it. I can assure you the court shall not try to influence your opinions in any way, for the integrity of your advice is crucial to many of our discussions." She grins like a mad hatter.

"I cannot however promise that Miss Hathaway will always be assigned as your guardian." Her eyes scrutinized Lissa's face to find a reaction. Disappointment is etched across Lissa's beautiful features. Hastily she adds "I can however guarantee that from now until your graduation Guardian Hathaway will be assigned to you in place of Guardian Belikov.

We all double take.

"What?" I ask bluntly. That's me, ever the charmer.

Adrian laughs and Lissa glares at me for my interruption.

"Yes Miss Hathaway, you heard me right. You were reckless and shameful in dropping out of school to chase after Guardian Belikov. You abandoned your charge for your own selfishness. If I had it my way, this would not be happening. However you are the best of your age and left in your trail a hoard of dead strigoi. It is impossible to ignore such talent. The guardians feel no reason as to why you should not receive your promise mark tonight as you have displayed tremendous competence and they feel that a bad decision should not ruin your career. You will have to complete the rest of your training and year with princess Vasilisa, but you are now officially a guardian."

I let out a loud woot and Lissa squeals. "I can't believe it! I can't believe it!" I yell as Lissa pulls me in for an embrace.

Someone in the room clears their throat awkwardly jolting us back to reality.

"Right – um –Thank you your highness" I say stupidly still giddy.

At last she turns to Adrian.

"Adrian dear, I expect you to return to the court soon and find yourself a suitor, or at least take active participation in the council. You can't just be gallivanting around a high school you've already graduated from. We also need to eventually assign you some new guardians. If you don't start dating I will start arranging meetings for you. Understood?" Her voice icy.

He tenses for a moment before a malicious grin spreads across his face. "Understood Aunt Tatiana".

"You know I just want the best for you darling."

"Thank you auntie." Adrian's expression suggests someone just threw a wet towel on him.

It wasn't long before I was faced with the familiar sting of the tattoo needle biting into the sensitive skin at the back of my neck. A small group of guardians from the school had gathered in my honour. I know most of them from training.

I scan the crowd with earnest looking for something. A sharp pain jabs my heart forcing a hiss through my chapped lips.

"Do you need a break?" The guardian tattooing me asks. She's a nice old lady.

Forcing myself to take a deep breath I shake my head. I will not let my emotion show. Tears form in my eyes. I scan the crowd and know what I am looking for - who I'm looking for. He isn't here. I always thought that Dimitri would be here for the day I got my promise mark. My heart feels like a thousand tiny shards of glass have punctured it.

Breathe. I tell myself. Get it under control. Focus on the pain. You got this Hathaway. Breathe. Don't you dare cry now, not in front of your fellow guardians. Breathe. I can feel it working. Heartache fading breath by breath.

"Rose, we are going to give you some molnija marks for the strigoi you killed in Russia."

I sit patiently until my bum starts to go numb, focusing on anything but the one painfully absent face from the audience. My neck feels like it's on fire from all the tattoo ink I've gotten. Thankfully it's over now. I stretch and everyone claps for me and my promise mark.

I Rose Hathaway am officially a guardian.

D0rZ